Warhammer Online Preview

ActionTrip has whipped up a two-page preview of Mythic’s Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, based on what we know about the ambitious MMORPG so far.

While Mythic wants as much creative freedom as possible, certain choices were set in stone – things integral to the Warhammer universe. WAR will consist of 33 zones. In these zones, you’ll find two realms: Order (armies of the Empire) and Destruction (armies of Chaos). We’re talking about a classic struggle between good and evil, which I think should be even more apostrophized than in WOW. Simply put, the bad guys should be more vicious acting, not just looking, as the Warhammer universe dictates this principal. The forces of Order will be made up of Humans, Dwarves, and High Elves, while the armies of Destruction will be populated by Dark Elves, Humans, and Greenskins (Greenskins being Goblins and Orcs). The game world is set up in such a way that certain races will be paired up against each other. If you pick a Dwarf, you will go up against the Greenskins, and High Elves will face off against Dark Elves. Although this would be the natural order of things in the world if you will, you will not be bound by these ancient rivalries. You are free to travel to other zones and help your allies fight their enemies. At this point, Mythic has only announced the classes for two of the races: Dwarf Ironbreaker (tank), Hammerer (DPS unit), Engineer, Rune Priest (healer), Greenskin Black Orc (tank), Shaman (classic hybrid unit), Squig Herder (DPS unit – a la Hunter), and Berserker. Right now, Mythic is coming up with all the novel ways of having the units use their spells and abilities. From what I’ve heard at the E3, some of these abilities will be quite unique, like the way in which Squig Herder uses squigs to fight. He uses the damn things to make an armor for himself.